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Mater Dei sophomore Issei Tanabe, right, and Kornkamol Suakree pose with their first place trophies after winning the BBCN AJGA tournament on Thursday at Yorba Linda Country Club
Mater Dei sophomore Issei Tanabe, right, and Kornkamol Suakree pose with their first place trophies after winning the BBCN AJGA tournament on Thursday at Yorba Linda Country Club
Damian Dottore. Sports. HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Associate Mug Shot taken August 24, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

YORBA LINDA – The crystal trophy that Issei Tanabe cradled in left arm at Yorba Linda Country Club might not have been his had the Mater Dei boys golf not achieved an historic level of success last season.

It was playing for the Monarchs last season that he learned to survive tournament pressure, knowing that each shot could have prevented the Monarchs from eventually reaching the CIF State championship

“There were a lot of good players, and to keep advancing to the next round to advance to state, you have to beat them. You have to outplay them,” Tanabe said. “I tried my best, and it seemed to work out pretty well. And then all of that comes to this.”

After holding at least a share of the lead after all three rounds of the BBCN Bank Junior Championship at Yorba Linda Country Club, Tanabe won the first AJGA tournament of his career, cruising to a three-stroke victory.

Backed by an eagle and two birdies, Tanabe posted a 3-under-par 68 in Thursday’s final round. He opened the 54-hole tournament with a 68 as well, posting three sub-par rounds on his way to finishing with a 7-under-par 206.

“This feels great. I feel really confident,” said Tanabe, who has verbally committed to USC. “All three rounds, I felt that I could execute the shots that I wanted. Most of them I did.”

Davis Holman, a recent Servite graduate, entered the final round tied for the lead with Tanabe, but he had four bogeys on the front nine to card an even par 71 and tie for second with Justin Kim (Sunny Hills). Both players ended the tournament with a 4-under-par 209.

“I played well, but Issei played well. I knew I wasn’t going to get any breaks from him. I knew he was going to make a lot of birdies,” Holman said. “The fact that I didn’t win is fine. I would have liked to, but Issei just played a little better.”

Holman said he was feeling the pressure on Thursday. Several of his friends were in the gallery including former Servite teammate Preston Valder, and Holman is a member at Yorba Linda Country Club, so there was no excuse for him to not post a low number.

“A lot of people were following me, and I knew that if I messed up, I was going to hear it from them,” Holman said. “

Oscar Baek (Whittier Christian) and University senior-to-be Ari Gulugian both tied for fifth with a 1-under-par 212.

“It feels good because I haven’t been able to break down the barrier of playing well in a bigger tournament like this, and I finally did it today,” Gulugian said after posting his best result in an AJGA tournament. “I have worked a lot on my game to get to where I need to be. It all comes down to a lot of hard work and practice.”